Children's rights in Wales

When a State ratifies the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it takes on obligations under international law to implement it. Implementation is the process whereby State parties take action to ensure the realisation of all rights in the Convention for all children in their jurisdiction.

While it is the State which takes on obligations under the Convention, its task of implementation - of making a reality of the human rights of children - needs to engage all sectors of society and, of course, children themselves. Ensuring that all domestic legislation is fully compatible with the Convention and that the Convention's principles and provisions can be directly applied and appropriately enforced is fundamental.

The general measures of implementation are essentially about the development of a children's rights perspective throughout government, parliament and the legisaltive bodies, as well as the judiciary. They are required to promote the full enjoyment of all rights in the UNCRC, from incorporation of the UNCRC into domestic legislation, to the establishment of coordinating and monitoring bodies (government and independent) to comprehensive data collection, awareness raising and training, monitoring of budgets and the development of plans of action for children and young people rooted in the UNCRC. These measures are critical to the implementation of the UNCRC in Wales.

If you click on any of the boxes above it will take you to pages which outline what is happening with regards to the implementation of the UNCRC in Wales. The content of these pages will be updated when progress occurs.

Please see recent progress report below on the General Measures of Implementation in Wales.